The New Mexico State men’s basketball team (7-5) continues its four-game, 10-day road swing by heading to Des Moines, Iowa to face Drake (6-2) in the Knapp Center, Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. (MT) with radio coverage on KGRT 103.9 FM. Fans can listen to the radio coverage provided by NM State Hall of Fame inductee, Jack Nixon starting at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on the Aggie Sports Network. Television coverage will be provided Mediacom with coverage in Iowa and surrounding states. Live stats are available online at www.NMStateSports.com under the live events link and in-game updates will be given on Twitter @NMStateAggies.

Up Next

The Aggies will wrap up their run of four-consecutive road games with a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take on in-state rival, University of New Mexico on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. (MT). The Lobos are currently 9-1 on the season and previously defeated NM State 79-70 on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Post-Game Interviews

Fans and media can access post-game video interviews with head coach Marvin Menzies and selected players after each game on-line at www.NMStateSports.com by clicking on the game recap.

About the Aggies

Currently, the Aggies are 7-5 on the season, having dropped its last four games. On the road, NM State is 2-3 overall, while holding a 4-1 record while playing in the Pan American Center. During the Aggies’ four game skid, rebounding has been a spot to look at. NM State is -9.7 in rebound margin during its last four games, while during their seven game winning streak held a +8.6 rebound margin.

As a team, The Aggies are averaging 74.8 points per game, outscoring their opponents by 3.9 points per game. NM State is shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 69.7 percent from the free throw line. On the boards, NM State are pulling down 36.5 rebounds a game, while recording 5.7 blocks, 4.8 steals and 12 assists a game. Four Aggies are shooting over 80 percent from the charity stripe.

Daniel Mullings leads the Aggies with 17.7 points per game, shooting 48.7 percent from the field. He also leads the Aggies in steals with 18. Sim Bhullar is shooting a team leading 69 percent from the floor, while also leading the team in rebounds (86) and blocks (39). K.C. Ross-Miller second on the squad with 41 assists, while shooting 85.7 percent at the free throw line. DK Eldridge is hot from the 3-point line, making 45 percent of his attempts, while Renaldo Dixon is the team leader from the free throw line, knocking down 87 percent of his attempts.

Scouting Drake

The Drake Bulldogs enter this week’s game against NM State 6-2 after suffering a loss to Iowa 83-66 on December 7.

Drake averages 75.9 points per game while holding its opponents to 65.6 points per game. The Bulldogs are shooting just under 50 percent from the field, averaging 48 percent per game. Drake is averaging 8.3 three-point field goals per game, and is shooting 40 percent on the season from three-point range.

The Bulldogs are lead by senior guard Richard Carter, who is averaging a team high 20.3 points per contest. Carter is ranked 39th in the nation in scoring. Another player to watch on the Drake team is junior guard/forward Chris Caird, who is averaging 4.4 rebounds per game. Caird was a nominee for the Missouri Valley Player of the week after their loss to No. 23 Iowa.

Caird posted a career-high 21 points in the loss to Iowa by going 7-of-11 from the field and a staggering 5-fo-8 from the 3-point arc. He had the hot hand in the first half, going 4-of-5 from the arc for 14 points in 19 minutes. His 21 points are the fourth most anyone has scored on Iowa this season.

At the conclusion of the Iowa game, Drake was outrebounded for just the second time this season, and their offense was limited to its second lowest shooting percentage of the season at 39.7 percent despite shooting 48.3 percent in the first half.

Aggies versus Drake

The Aggies are 17-9 all-time record against Drake, while going 4-7 on the road against the Bulldogs. NM State is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings with Drake.

The Aggies first met with the Bulldogs on Dec. 21, 1939 in Las Cruces with a score of 70-59. They met again the following day on Dec. 22 and the Aggies beat them once again with a score of 49-47. They last met on Feb. 18, 2012 in Las Cruces where the Aggies won 71-55.

Looking Back (recap vs. Arizona)

The New Mexico State men’s basketball team dropped its second-consecutive game to a Top 25 team after losing to top-ranked Arizona, 74-48, in front of a packed crowd at the McKale Center on Wednesday, Dec. 11. NM State falls to 7-5 while the Wildcats remain undefeated at 10-0.

The Aggies played well and hung in there with the top team in the country during the first half and the beginning of the second half, but did not have enough to keep pace with the No. 1 Wildcats.

For one of the few times this season, NM State struggled in the paint with the Arizona big frontline. The Aggies were outrebounded 38-22 and the Wildcats doubled NM State’s point production in the paint, 36-18.

The Aggies finished the game shooting 15-of-46 from the field (33 percent). Arizona, meanwhile, made over half of its shots, 29-of-56 to finish 52 percent from the field. NM State also struggled from beyond the arc, making only two of 11 shots for an 18 3-point percentage.

NM State was led by junior guard Daniel Mullings who finished with a game-high 18 points.

Mullings was the only Aggie to finish with double-digit points. Sophomore center Sim Bhullar led the way on the boards with seven total rebounds. Redshirt junior Tshilidzi Nephawe added eight points and five rebounds.

Mullings Climbs the Steals List

This season, guard Daniel Mullings leads the team in steals with 18. Currently, he ranks fifth on the all-time list with 155, just seven steals away from the No. 4 spot held by former Aggie great Randy Brown. Mullings is averaging 1.5 steals per game this season. In 12 games, Mullings has recorded six games with at least two steals, including three games with three steals. If Mullings keeps his current pace of 1.5 steals per game, by the end of the regular season he will rank third all-time with 186.

Mullings Reaches 1,000 – Moving up the all-time scoring list

Junior guard and Canadian native, Daniel Mullings led the NM State men’s basketball team with 483 points during the 2012-13 season. During the 2011-12 season he tallied a total of 334 points. Prior to the start of this season Mullings needed 183 points to reach 1,000 points for NM State.

Mullings’ 1,000-career point came at the 17:32 mark in the second half when he made two free throws. He finished the evening going 5-of-14 from the field while also making 6-of-9 free throws. He now has 1,029 points during his time in the Crimson & White and surpassed former Aggie guard Billy Keys on the all-time scoring list.

Mullings has scored 212 points this season and now has 1,029 points on his career. He is currently averaging 17.7 points per game this season and is looking to climb the all-time scoring list. Mullings moved up two spots to No. 28 on the all-time list with 18 points against No. 1 Arizona. He needs eight points to tie for the No. 27 spot. Truman Ward (1971-73) scored 1,037 points in 76 games with NM State.

Eric Channing is NM State’s all-time scoring leader with 1,862 points. Channing played for the Aggies from 1998-02. Former Aggie guard Hernst Laroche is No. 15 on all-time points scored. He was under coach Menzies from 2008-12 and scored a total of 400 points his first two years at NM State.

George Knighton was the first Aggie to ever reach 1,000 points. He played for NM State from 1960-62 and scored over 1,000 points his first two years. The most recent Aggies to enter the 1,000 Point Club were Wendell McKines, Hernst Laroche, and Hamidu Rahman in 2012. Former Aggie Billy Keys is currently No. 31 on the 1,000-point list with 1,004 points in 65 games played (two seasons; 1999-00).

Bhullar with another Block

Sophomore center Sim Bhullar broke the school record for blocks in a single game when he tallied 10 blocked shots in a 91-60 win over Prairie View A&M, Nov. 27 in the Pan American Center. That day the Aggies tallied 14 blocks as a team, which is also a new school record at NM State. Former Aggie All-American James Moore is the former record holder for blocks in a game as he tallied eight blocks against North Texas on Feb. 7, 2004. The previous school record for blocked shots by an Aggie team was 12. NM State marked 12 blocks against Creighton, Jan. 12, 1978, and against UTSA, Feb. 2, 2013.

Bhullar currently has 124 blocks on his career and tied for the No. 3 spot on the all-time blocked shots list at NM State after marking two blocks against No. 1 Arizona on Dec. 11. He is tied with former Aggie Slab Jones, who marked 124 career blocks from 1976-80. Bhullar can move into the No. 2 spot on the all-time list with 13 more blocks.

Twelve games in last season, Bhullar only had 16 blocks, compared to his 39 blocks after 12 games this season. At his current pace of 3.3 blocks per game, Bhullar is on track to block 105 shots this season, smashing the current-single season blocks record at NM State, which he currently holds (85).

Former Aggie Roland is in the No. 2 spot for blocked shots in a season with 58 during the 1973-74 season.